Friday 29 June 2012

Philosophy Video: Daniel Dennett: Can we know our own minds



In this TED Talk from 2007 well known Philosopher of Mind, Daniel Dennett outlines a number of experiments which are meant to show that we do not have the privileged access to the contents of our own mind. Some of Dennett's views are considered quite controversial by some within the field (for example his denial of the existence of Qualia). This talk expresses Dennett's outlook on such issues but if the talk has one fault it is that he fails to outline the philosophical importance of the experiments discussed in the lecture. The lecture seems to be mainly based on a chapter from his 2005 book Sweet Dreams: Philosophical Obstacles to a Science of Consciousness. I would recommend that anyone who found this particular talk interesting and wants to know more about the particular change blindness experiments and their philosophical implications read the aforementioned book.   


References
Chapter 3, Explaining the ''Magic'' of Consciousness, Sweet Dreams, MIT 2005

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